INFLUENCE OF SOCIO-CULTURAL PRACTICES ON HIV INFECTION IN TWO NAIROBI SLUMS; A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
HIV is the leading cause of death in Africa and it accounts for more than 20% of all deaths. Kenya is among the countries with the highest burden of disease. Even with the increasing knowledge of HIV/AIDS management, major concerns have been expressed with regards to the unacceptable current HIV prevalence rates especially among specific groupings. This study aims to describe whether the socio-cultural practices of circumcision and pubic hair removal are associated with increased risk of HIV infection among people from different cultural groupings residing in two slums in Nairobi.
METHODS:
Data were collected from the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance (NUHDS) between September 2006 and November 2007 as part of a community based HIV sero-prevalence study. A total of 4767 residents of Viwandani and Korogocho slums, between the ages of 15-54 years for men and 15-49 years for females were sampled as the study population. Information on circumcision and pubic hair removal as well as other social bio-demographic variables were. Analysis was carried out using multiple logistic regression methods to establish the relationship between HIV infection on circumcision and pubic hair removal.
RESULTS:
HIV prevalence in this population was 8.5% with the highest HIV infection burden being observed among participants aged 35+ years (36%). The circumcision rate was higher among HIV- men (90%) compared to 61% among HIV+ men. A higher proportion of HIV- individuals (28%) had never shaved their pubic hair compared to the HIV+ (15%) individuals. Circumcised men had a twofold reduced risk of having HIV (OR=0.48; 95% CI: 0.20-1.17. p=0.11). Those that shaved their pubic hair at least once a month were more than twice likely to be HIV positive compared to those that never shaved their pubic hair (OR=2.56; 95% CI: 0.89-7.37 p=0.08).
CONCLUSIONS:
Our study found no association between circumcision, pubic hair removal and HIV.